


Sowing

by janto321 (FaceofMer)



Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Implied/Referenced Sex, Introspection, M/M, No Dialogue
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-09
Updated: 2020-09-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:00:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26376910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FaceofMer/pseuds/janto321
Summary: Sometimes Joe and Nicky rest somewhere for a time.
Relationships: Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova
Comments: 4
Kudos: 58
Collections: A Little Hope





	Sowing

Ostensibly, Yusuf and Nicolo had come to this place because there were rumors of war brewing in the mountains. What they found was a small village by the curve of a river, just coming out of winter and recovering from some raids the previous fall.

The villagers had been wary of them at first, like usual, but they needed the hands for planting and couldn't afford to argue when the pair of them took up occupation of a tidy little cottage on the edge of the village.

They rarely stayed longer than a year or two, but sometimes it was good to stop roaming, to feel the soil under their hands, to sleep every night in the same bed. Nicolo planted the seeds of olive trees near the cottage, knowing that he'd be gone long before they matured, but that they might be a boon to the village in the future.

Slowly the villagers opened up to them. Yusuf listened to their stories, watched the children run, but was careful that they didn't wind themselves too tightly into the fabric of village life.

Some of the women might have looked at Nicolo or Yusuf, but they were left alone.

Spring turned to summer and the crops began to grow. Yusuf made love to Nicolo in the woods, near where the water began to widen before it ran by the village. Nicolo's soft cries were lost in the sound of running water, their holy communion in the joining of their bodies as one.

It was a peaceful year for the village, though perhaps Nicolo and Yusuf's presence helped. After such a long time they couldn't help but carry themselves like soldiers, eyes always scanning for trouble on the horizon.

Summer gave way to fall and they threw themselves into the harvest, even as they quietly prepared to move on before the winter snows trapped them for another season.

One evening, the weather already growing cooler, a woman from the village came to their door under cover of darkness. She and her husband had been unable to conceive a child, and she knew they were leaving soon, but before they left, could they....?

Nicolo and Yusuf had only to share a look to come to an agreement and lead her to their bed. It wasn't the first time such a request had been made of them and it wouldn't be the last. They viewed it as a momentary kindness, perhaps leaving something of themselves in a world that would soon enough forget their passing through.

Two days later they left the village behind, heading over the pass just before the snows, moving on as they always must, knowing that the world would turn around them.

**

Three hundred years passed before Nicolo and Yusuf found themselves again in the same place. The little village had grown into a town, spilling now over both sides of the river, the streets still somewhat following the ancient paths, though little trace of the old village remained.

Still, they walked to the place where their cottage had stood and smiled to see that the olive trees had continued to grow, even if the house was new. A little girl was playing with her dolls in the front yard and she looked up as they paused.

Yusuf was certain he saw something of Nicolo in her blue eyes, but it was impossible to know for sure. Nicolo nudged Yusuf and they walked away again. Perhaps they'd spend the night here, though they'd be off again in the morning.

The only constant was change, but it was good to be reminded of the things they sometimes left behind, that the seeds they planted continued to grow and bear fruit.

**Author's Note:**

> You can mostly find me on twitter @merindab


End file.
